ISO 9001:2026 is on the way
Last updated:
May 12, 2026
You’ve probably heard of ISO 9001. Maybe you’ve considered it before, or briefly looked into it. But with a new version on the horizon, you might be asking yourself some questions. What does this standard actually mean for your organisation? And how do you prepare for it without knowing exactly what’s changing?
What often helps is first getting a clear picture of what ISO 9001 actually is today—and perhaps even more importantly, what it is not.
ISO 9001 organisations provides organisations a framework for managing quality. It helps you consciously reflect on how you work, how you make decisions, and how you ensure that your customers get what they expect. As ISO 9001 expert and auditor Joerdi Roels explains: “It provides a certain structure, a framework for thinking. We have to plan, execute, monitor, adjust, and continuously improve.” That may sound obvious, but in practice, that systematic approach is often lacking.
At the same time, it’s important to understand that ISO 9001 isn’t just a checklist to tick off. The standard doesn’t dictate organisation how you should organize your organisation . “The standard doesn’t tell you exactly what you have to do. Nor does it determine what the quality level should be,” explains Joerdi. And that’s precisely where its strength lies: it provides a framework, but not a straitjacket.
That also means that ISO 9001 doesn’t say anything about whether you have to deliver “top quality.” That nuance is often overlooked. “Whether you order a Skoda or a Rolls-Royce, it doesn’t really make a difference,” says Roels. What does matter is something else: “People simply say: if you promise something to the customer—by that delivery date, with those specifications, with those features—you have to deliver on it.”
And that is precisely the essence of ISO 9001. It’s not about being better than others, but about being reliable. About consistency. About doing what you say you’re going to do. For many organisations , this organisations a challenging realization, because it shifts the focus from ambition to discipline.
With the arrival of ISO 9001:2026, this becomes even more relevant. Not because you need to know exactly what will change right now, but because it’s a good time to take a closer look at how your organization operates. How structured is your current workflow? To what extent are your processes truly under control? And how confident are you that you always deliver what you promise?
You don’t need to have definitive answers to those questions just yet. But organisations are asking themselves these questions today will be in a stronger position down the road. Not because they already know what the future holds, but because they understand the logic behind it.
[video]
“ISO 9001 and certificates are often mentioned in the same breath. But that doesn’t have to be the case at all.”
Achieving quality isn't just about paperwork and documents. It's about how you behave and the attitude those people display.
“And you can’t always capture that in documents or structures; it’s purely a matter of behavior.”
Would you like to stay up to date on ISO 9001:2026?
Please provide your contact information, and we’ll be the first to let you know as soon as the new standard is available. You’ll also receive a clear explanation of what this organisation for your organisation in practical terms.
